Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Calculation Power Experiment (2)
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Commonly known as the calculation power experiment.
Take a matrix with numbers arranged haphazardly.
Perform multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction on each row and column.
Swap rows, exchange columns, and so on.
Using every possible linear operation, turn all elements off the diagonal into zeros.
In simpler terms, it's like taking numbers scribbled randomly on a Go board
and, using only arithmetic operations within the same rows and columns,
neatly aligning as many as possible along the pretty central diagonal.
You might think, "What pointless nonsense is this?"
But in truth, every physical and chemical system governed by quantum mechanics
boils down to this matrix diagonalization problem.
It might be utterly useless knowledge for eating rice and taking dumps.
But for humanity to discover better new materials,
synthesize novel drugs,
and uncover laws of the microscopic world we didn't know before, it's the core knowledge.
"This is originally a job for a quantum computer."
In the not-too-distant future, quantum technologies like quantum annealing and quantum simulation—
generally called "limited quantum computers"—handle exactly these kinds of calculations.
The dream universal quantum computer that would replace all classical computers?
We don't even need to go that far right away.
Even quantum computers specialized for specific calculations like this can propel various fields forward massively.
Just take the 7x7 matrix I jotted down in my notebook as an example.
A classical computer needs 2^7 calculations—128 in total.
A quantum computer needs just 7 squared—49 calculations.
"Even a slight increase from 7 to 10 makes a huge difference."
If it's a 10x10 matrix instead of 7x7, the gap widens dramatically.
Classical: 2^10 = 1,024 calculations.
Quantum: 10^2 = 100 calculations.
Just going from 7 to 10 makes it 10 times better than a classical computer.
What if it goes to 20, 30, 40... after that?
Let's look at a real example: glucose (C6H12O6).
6+12+6=24, so a 24x24 matrix calculation.
Classical: 2^24 = 16,777,216 calculations.
Quantum: 24^2 = 576 calculations.
The quantum computer solves it with 29,127 times fewer calculations.
In other words, it computes that much faster.
As the size N grows, the difference is obvious without calculating.
Well, that's the principle—real-world factors complicate it a bit.
Quantum computers are hard to build, after all.
But after personally experiencing and overcoming all those difficulties (though the government stabbed me in the back and China stole the research),
I regressed to my second life.
...Got a bit off track there.
Anyway, the point is this:
The calculation I'm about to do is brutally tough without a quantum computer.
Matrix diagonalization is easy only for quantum computers.
Even supercomputers struggle with it.
A 7x7 matrix is doable on a home PC if you code it right,
but doing it by human brainpower? Way too hard.
That's how it should be, for sure.
"...Calculated."
I'd already written the diagonalized answer below the problem.
The intermediate steps on the notebook: just three lines.
The rest? All mental math.
A task that requires 128 calculations even on a classical computer—our everyday PCs.
I just knocked out most of those 128 with mental arithmetic.
"Not sure if the answer's right. Probably wrong, though."
Of course, it could be incorrect.
And probably is.
The human brain is far less precise than a computer and prone to errors.
Lucky it was only 7x7.
8 or 9, and I couldn't have done it mentally—even filling this notebook page wouldn't suffice.
"Even so, the experiment's a success..."
The key takeaway here:
The moment my calculation power surged over 2x from 3 to 7,
I pulled off a calculation I absolutely couldn't before—
one that needed a computer. Almost purely mentally.
"Whoa..."
Even though I did it myself,
I can't believe it—my heart's pounding, goosebumps rising.
"With this ability, how much time could I save...?"
It'll massively cut time on every research or study action.
Check data during experiments,
rough mental estimates before plugging into computers for analysis,
verify if values match equations while reading papers—all doable in my head without writing.
And that's not all.
Even grocery shopping gets easier.
Pick the cheapest per gram in a flash for thrifty living.
"Kuh... kuhahaha... This is insane..."
There was that meme: "The cheetah is laughing."
Now I get how that cheetah felt.
While Kyung-jun was deep into his calculation power experiment,
'...He's a total lunatic. Not just some weirdo...'
Lee A-ram, peeking at him from a distance,
was stunned.
He'd been muttering to thin air alone,
then pretended to drink from nothing, closed his eyes,
and suddenly scribbled furiously on his notebook with an unprecedented serious face,
before
"Kuhuhu... uhahaha... The cheetah laughs... runs... I am the cheetah..."
bursting into that creepy laugh just now.
It's not just that Lee A-ram enjoyed spying on Kyung-jun in particular.
He's already the tallest and bulkiest among his peers,
yet he mutters like he's seeing ghosts, then laughs like that.
The other kids were freaked out too.
"...Ah."
Kyung-jun noticed everyone's stares.
He cleared his throat awkwardly,
then put on his most serious face ever, acting nonchalant.
"Let's do one more."
Then he dove back into scribbling and intense focus on his notebook.
'...Psychopath, right? Yeah, definitely.'
No need to check psychopath traits like last time.
Kyung-jun clearly lives in his own world, apart from others,
and sees weird hallucinations no one else does.
Creak.
Perfect timing for ventilation.
The science teacher rang the bell, then entered five minutes late.
"You guys are the first-years gathered for Science Club CA, right?"
The kids stayed silent to the teacher's question.
But the teacher, unfazed as if used to it,
"CA class starts soon."
casually shut the door and headed to his seat.
Last year, the year before—Science Club kids were always like this.
Thud.
The massive TV monitor embedded in a wardrobe-like drawer from back then.
The science teacher started connecting his laptop to it.
"What, why's it not connecting... Ah, got it."
Projector linked, screen mirrored.
He opened the "Science CA Lesson Materials" folder.
But for lesson materials, it was full of .avi and .mp4 files.
Not baseball videos, of course.
All documentaries on science, domestic and international.
Stuff the Science Club kids would tackle one by one during CA periods.
"First class today, so I'll play something fun special."
The science teacher queued up the recent hit American hero flick Iron Man.
Lee A-ram stuck out her tongue watching.
'...It's a movie I like, but still.'
Separate from liking it,
school CA time—class time, no less.
Not even Movie Appreciation Club, and Science Club showing Iron Man as science?
Something's seriously off.
"Oh, Iron Man. Cool."
"We just watch the movie? No experiments? Sweet."
"I've seen it. Gonna sleep."
But the other students were satisfied, even thrilled.
Truth is, CA back then was always like this.
A tiny minority actually taught or did activities properly.
Just filling time because the Ministry of Education mandated creative activities.
Even so, teachers and students couldn't just slack entirely,
"After the movie, discuss briefly with your group, fill this out and submit. Don't forget science content. Pass it back from the front."
so the science teacher passed out recycled printouts from front to back.
Roughly like this:
"We spent this creative learning activity thusly.
Students had highly creative, enriching time unlike rigid classes via these activities."
In other words, blatant eyewash paperwork for CA submission.
'What science is in a superhero movie... even if the protagonist's a nuclear physicist...'
Maybe because Lee A-ram matured too fast unlike her peers.
'...Three years of middle school like this nonstop? And the local high school too?'
She felt the dark reality of Korean public education in real time back then.
Already hit with life regrets from Hong Ja-hee's betrayal at lunch,
this doubled the blow.
But whether Lee A-ram felt that or not,
"Some of you might've seen it, but it's fun rewatching. Quiet now."
under the teacher's and most students' tacit agreement, CA class—just play movie and nap—began.
Then, perhaps Lee A-ram's last struggle.
"...Teacher."
"Yeah?"
She raised her hand for a minimal point.
"...You said discuss with group, but my group's just me."
"Oh, right."
The teacher scratched his head annoyed, unsurprised.
"Then join a nearby group you like... Ah, that one's got just one guy like you."
Spotting a boy in the same boat at the back.
"You, tall guy at the very back."
The science teacher raised his voice toward the rear.
"Why so far back? Planning to sleep? Movie's fun—come up front."
Kyung-jun was the one who looked up at the science teacher's words.
His focus broken, he blankly scanned the situation.
Once he got it, he casually looked back at his notebook.
And added,
"That girl over there won't like it."
"What? For real?"
All eyes, including the teacher's, locked on Lee A-ram.
Never before had so many stares hit her at once—she felt cold sweat down her spine.
'...Crazy bastard! When did I ever say that?!'
Cursing Kyung-jun inwardly,
she barely kept calm outwardly,
forcing an awkward smile for defense.
"...I don't mind? Never really talked to him."
"She says that. Back guy, you just don't wanna come up front?"
In the end, after the teacher's lazy prodding, Kyung-jun had to move from the back to Lee A-ram's front seat.
'...What the heck's he writing in that notebook? Numbers?'
But just a seat change.
Kyung-jun kept scribbling numbers, immersed in his calculation experiment.
The science teacher didn't bother him either.
No point annoying annoying students and getting annoyed yourself.
Anyway,
"Quiet now. Don't leave after movie—properly fill and submit the printouts?"
Somehow, every group desk had at least two now.
"At least ten lines or they won't accept it—don't half-ass it."
Doo-doo-doong~
Thus began the very scientific movie.
Iron Man (File-nuri illegal download version).
Tony Stark, Iron Man's protagonist, wins big at the casino,
a nearby beauty flirts, he spots she's a reporter,
and somehow she ends up having a one-night stand at his place—a steamy opening scene.
'I've seen it before... Tony's handsome anytime... It's my favorite movie, but...'
Lee A-ram was flustered from the start.
'...Is it okay to show this in class?'
Even if she checked ratings ahead,
she was still a middle schooler.
But unlike her worries,
the science teacher ignored it all, focused on his laptop work (stocks).
And besides Lee A-ram,
someone else cared about the content.
"A playboy like that as a physicist? Newton in heaven's biting his apple and sobbing."
It was Kyung-jun, sitting right across from her at their group desk.